Jac's roundup of pop culture news and Internet findings

A terrified-looking local 2-year-old has become something of an Internet sensation over the past week. In
a funny photo with a cute story-turned-viral image, Quincy Kroner posed with
two friendly looking garbage men in front of their truck (as he held his
own mini garbage truck toy).

Pictured: Internet gold.

Dad and Northside resident
Ollie Kroner, who’s no stranger to CityBeat,posted the photo on Facebook, saying, “Quincy's been waiting all week to
show the garbage men his garbage truck. But, in the moment, he was overwhelmed
in the presence of his heroes.” The photo was shared by friends and family,
then their friends and so on until the image appeared prominently on Tumblr, Imgur, Awkward
Family Photos, Huffington Post and ABC News.

Despite the sudden fame, Quincy
continues to live a low-profile, tiny human life. Read more here. (Worth noting is the writer’s choice to drive home the point that “it started
with a sticker chart” and to include the comment "Garbage men get swole as
hell and are generally the greatest people around.")

Stock footage provider
Dissolve created a “faux” TV trailer using only stock video, and it appears only
slightly more generic that a CBS fall lineup.

Just in time for Mad Men’s final season premiere, AMC
paid tribute to the show with a bench resembling the Don Draper
silhouette logo that has become so iconic. The bench — which I really need them
to mass-produce — was unveiled in front of the Time-Life building, which
Sterling Cooper & Partners has called home in Mad Men universe since Season Four. Jon Hamm was profiled in GQ’s April issue, and the show’s leading
man shared some advice given to him from a guy who knows what it’s like to
portray an iconic TV character and then, suddenly, not — Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston.

"It's hard, man," Cranston told him. "It's hard to let it
go. It'll hit you a couple of different ways at different times."

But before you get
depressed thinking about all of Mad Men joining
Walter White and the other characters in the big TV set in the sky, there’s
still a whole (OK, half) season of Mad Men to obsess and drink over, starting
April 5.

Serena Williams made her
own 7/11 video a la Beyoncé.

Almost as good as the
original and how cute is it when she stops dancing to let that old man walk by?
Definitely needed more azz, though.

Goodbye Zuckerberg, hello
Luthor! Jesse Eisenberg lost his curly locks to embody his upcoming role as Lex
Luthor in Batman v Superman: Dawn of
Justice. Check out his TRANSFORMATION (he just shaved his head)here.

The cast of Pretty Woman the movie’s
25th anniversary with a reunion on the Today Show.
While it has been quite a few years since the last good hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold
movie, don’t count on a sequel. They say there will never be a Pretty Woman 2. At least some things are
sacred.

With that being said, of course there’s new remake news this
week.

Fox announced that David
Duchovny and Gillian Anderson will return as Mulder and Scully in the
network’s limited-series reboot of The
X-Files.

Some movies are getting
turned into TV shows while some television series are getting reworked for the
big screen. Finally, the Entourage
movie trailer is here.

Who doesn’t love a good
conspiracy theory? Reddit user Euchrid_Eucrow posted an
in-depth analysis on the Barenaked Ladies song “One Week” (yes, you’re reading
all of this correctly) in the Fan Theories subreddit. S/He argues that that
song — an upbeat Pop-Rock earworm full of random bits of early-Millennium pop
culture — is about a man who killed his girlfriend and is slowly going mad as
he stays in a room with the corpse. Internet!

Jac's roundup of pop culture news and Internet findings

Seeing locals on reality TV
combines two of my favorite things: Cincinnati and trashy television. So I was
elated to hear that A&E’s Neighbors
with Benefits – a new unscripted series following swingers — is set just
north in Warren County. The show will document married couples in a suburban
neighborhood that have open, extra-marital relationships. The show hasn’t even
aired yet (it premieres Sunday, March 22), but it already has reality red
flags, as with many A&E shows filmed in Cincinnati (remember Rowhouse Showdown?).
While at least one couple on the show is confirmed local,
some residents of the Thorton Grove neighborhood near Maineville question the
legitimacy of the other couples and shooting location.
There’s speculation that a rental home outside Thorton Grove was used to shoot
the series after residents complained about associating the neighborhood with a
swinger capital. But honestly, if the worst thing about your neighborhood is
that people are having sex with each other, isn’t that something to brag about?

Marilyn Manson is all about
his pops these days. He took an unexpected but awesome role on Sons of Anarchy’s final season, saying
he took the role because he watched the show with his father, and now the two are in Paper Magazine.

Cute!

New show news:

True Detective Season Two is still without a premiere date, but stars Vince Vaughn,
Colin Farrell, Taylor Kitsch and Rachel McAdams have been at work shooting the
next installment. Go here
to read more about the season’s storyline — public transportation + murder + conspiracy
— the characters and directors — various directors will take over for Season
One’s Emmy winner Cary Fukanaga — and see photos from set. (Spoiler Alert only if you
want to go in to the show with zero background info on the story.)

American Horror Story’s fifth season will apparently take a look at the
horrid world of hospitality because Lady Gaga revealed the next setting will be
a hotel. Gaga will reportedly star. AHS:
Hotel premieres in October and here’s some totally unconfirmed juice goose (translation:
juicy gossip)
posted on the AHS Reddit thread. I don’t know about Gaga taking the lead on this
— let alone starring in three seasons amidst her very successful music career —
but the general storyline sounds good to me! And the present-day setting with
flashbacks to different eras is in line with the show’s pattern (so far, odd
seasons have been set in modern day — Murder House, Coven — while even seasons
were period pieces — Asylum, Freak Show). I love the idea of peeking in on
various scandalous guests over the years — so many opportunities for killer
guest-stars!

Speaking of new shows,
check out this week’s TV column for a spring television preview. Winter might
finally be gone, Game of Thrones is coming!

Zoolander 2 is officially happening, as evidenced by Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson
stomping the Valentino runway as Derek and Hansel during Paris Fashion Week.

Nothing says haute couture quite like Ben Stiller’s
old ass on a runway. And if you really want to roll your eyes to the
back of your skull and never to see the light of day again, get this: I looked on
IMDB for evidence that this sequel is really happening (yes, I fact-check the
gossip rags I read; yes, IMDB is a reputable fact-checking source) and found
that Stiller is also attached to Dodgeball
2 (predictable) and Space Jam 2
(da fuh?).

Ryan Gosling must be
craving some attention since that baby of his stole the spotlight, because
he shared some cute throwback dance videosthat have everyone saying, “Hey girl,” again.

Ryan, if you think we
haven’t already seen all your talent show videos and Mickey Mouse Club clips,
you are seriously underestimating the stalkiness of your fans. Speaking of, why
is there no term for Gosling fans, a la Cumberbitches? Can I bring up “juice
goose” twice in one post?

But I digress. Here’s the
little man at work:

Vince Gilligan would like
everyone to stop throwing pizzas on Walter White’s house, please. The Breaking Bad creator says fans flock to
the real house used for exterior shots in the show, and the current owners are
cool with that, except when people creep up at night and recreate the famous pizza
scene.

The Dress that captivated
the Internet is dead and buried and I’m not trying to resurrect it anytime
soon, but if you are curious about the science behind why one dress looks
completely different to different people, read here. And see how good you are at
differentiating colors here — you may have a fourth cone, which means you probably saw the blue and black dress for
what is was: a goddamned blue and black dress.

And here’s Earl Sinclair
singing “Hypnotize” because it’s Thursday and we all need this.

Let's be real: House of Cards premieres tonight; most of us probably won't leave the house this weekend

After fans were teased by its brief availability online two weeks ago — a “bug,” they say — the next chapter of House of Cards is finally here. Since some of us are guilty of binge-watching both previous seasons, it’s been more than a year since many viewers have spent some quality time with the Underwoods. Let’s recap.

On the brink of his impeachment, President Walker resigned at the end of Season Two. Walker’s wealthy confidant Raymond Tusk was arrested, knocking out two of Vice President Frank Underwood’s political roadblocks. After two seasons of watching Frank go to any length to secure his power, it seems he’s reached the pinnacle. Which means …

Frank Underwood is the President of the United States of America. Terrifying. But that doesn’t solidify his reelection in the upcoming race.
Wife and sometimes literal partner in crime Claire Underwood made some low and dirty moves last season. Despite Claire helping them both rise in the ranks, expect to see her question the couple’s actions and use her title as FLOTUS as she sees fit.

And Doug Stamper was last seen lying in the woods. While trying to protect Rachel he sufficiently spooked her, leading to a chase and brick to the head. Fingers crossed for his (unlikely) miraculous return.

If you do want to leave the house (or you finish the entire season before tomorrow night), here are some other things to do this weekend:

FRIDAY

Elton John

Photo: eltonjohn.com

Music: Elton John

The legendary Sir Elton John will be at U.S. Bank Arena on Friday with his piano and backing band, performing hits from his prolific five-decade career. His 2013 release, The Diving Board, was his 31st album, and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road — the album with “Bennie and the Jets,” “Candle in the Wind” and “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” — just celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2014. Warning: This show will probably sell out; he’s kind of a big deal. 8 p.m. Friday. $39-$149. U.S. Bank Arena, 100 Broadway, Downtown, usbankarena.com.

The Total Look

Photo: William Claxton

Event: Art After Dark

The Cincinnati Art Museum’s Art After Dark events are a great way to visit the museum after hours for socializing, art viewing and wine drinking. Friday’s Art After Dark event celebrates the opening of the museum’s new exhibit, The Total Look, an exploration of the creative collaboration between fashion designer Rudi Gernreich, model Peggy Moffitt and photographer William Claxton, featuring Mod garments Gernreich created in the 1960s and ’70s. Dress in your best ’60s-era ensemble for an evening of docent-led tours, dance performances by Pones Inc., appetizers and drinks. 5-9 p.m. Friday. Free. 953 Eden Park Drive, Mount Adams, cincinnatiartmuseum.org.

Art: Final Friday/Reconstructed at 1305 Gallery

Via the continued efforts of artist friends Michael Stillion and Melanie Derrick, 1305 Gallery continues to promote the work of quality artists more than a year after founder Lily Mulberry’s death. Final Friday, 1305 hosts Reconstructed: New Work by Michael Willett, a solo show of work by Willett, who graduated from DAAP’s MFA program and currently serves as an assistant professor of art at the University of Montevallo in Birmingham, Ala. His large-scale paintings and collages will be featured in an upcoming issue of New American Paintings, so check out his work while you can still see it for free. Through March 21. Free. 1305 Main St., Over-the-Rhine, facebook.com/1305gallery.

Photo: Shen Yun Performing Arts

Onstage: Shen Yun

Prepare to be uplifted and inspired by tremendous onstage energy as legends and classic heroes spring to life through historic Chinese dance. Sensational global performing group Shen Yun will take you on a profound journey through 5,000 years of Chinese culture, featuring the world’s most classically trained dancers accompanied by a live orchestra combining the best of Chinese and Western composition. Anticipate leaps and flips of Shen Yun’s aerial masters, thundering battle drums and singers’ soaring voices with dazzling animated backdrops that transport you to another world. 7:30 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday. $53-$123. Aronoff Center, 650 Walnut St., Downtown, cincinnatiarts.org.

Event: Cold Night & Warm Spirits

If you’re tired of the winter dredge, seek refuge at Ault Park’s Cold Night & Warm Spirits whiskey tasting. Enjoy some of the finest American, Irish, Canadian and Scottish whiskies at this social and spirited event, with live music and light bites. Bring your own cigar to enjoy around a roaring fire on the cigar patio. Benefits Ault Park. 6:30-10 p.m. Friday. $40. 3600 Observatory Ave., Hyde Park, aultparkac.org.

SATURDAY

Marlee Matlin

Film: ReelAbilities Film Festival

The ReelAbilities Film Festival, dedicated to movies that highlight the abilities of those considered “disabled,” isn’t new. It was here in 2013. But it’s vastly different this year — in fact, it’s now the city’s highest-profile film festival because the local group Living Arrangements for the Developmentally Disabled has contracted to operate the national series of ReelAbilities festivals and wants to make the Cincinnati fest, which runs from Friday to March 7, a showcase. There will be more than 15 features from around the world. Highlights include guests like Academy Award-winning actress Marlee Matlin at Friday afternoon’s awards luncheon; a touching film on Tuesday, The Commute, about a wheelchair-using man’s journey through the New York subway system; the Independent Spirit Award-nominated Stand Clear of the Closing Doors on March 7; and a documentary about the polio-afflicted great Rock & Roll songwriter Doc Pomus (“This Magic Moment”), which is being coupled with a tribute concert to him following the screening on March 6. Premiere Night Gala 6 p.m. Saturday. $150. More info at cincyra.org.

Music: Chris Brown

Yeah. He'll be at US Bank Arena with Trey Songz. So if you like Chris Brown, this is great for you. His tickets also cost more than going to see Elton John? 7:30 p.m. Saturday. $29.75-$199.50. U.S. Bank Arena, 100 Broadway, Downtown, usbankarena.com.

Maple Sugar Days

Photo: Great Parks

Event: Maple Sugar Days

Come celebrate the spring awakening of maple trees as you learn the craft of maple syrup making. Sweet tooths of all ages will discover how the clear, sticky sap is collected, boiled over a fire and transformed into syrup. Additionally, families can enjoy crafts, demonstrations and naturalist-led hikes. Maple treats, including waffles, ice cream and cotton candy, will be available for a small fee. Noon-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Free. Farbach-Werner Nature Preserve, 3455 Poole Road, Colerain, greatparks.org.

Cincinnati Home & Garden Show

Event: Cincinnati Home & Garden Show

According to the current weather forecast, most of our yards will still be covered in snow during the entirety of the 2015 Cincinnati Home & Garden Show. As depressing as that may seem right now, spring is (hopefully) just around the corner and it has already sprung at the Duke Energy Convention Center. Wander through fairy gardens, let your significant other try to coerce you into buying a hot tub or swoon over kitchens the size of your entire OTR apartment. Seriously. Your only other plans this week are working and shoveling the walk … again. Opens 10:30 a.m. Saturday. Through March 8. $13; free for kids. 525 Elm St., Downtown, cincinnatihomeandgardenshow.com.

Xoe Wise

Photo: Provided

Music: Xoe Wise

Singer/songwriter Xoe Wise moved from North Carolina to Chicago to follow her musical dreams and quickly became a local favorite. Wise has gradually moved from a Folk Pop style to a highly melodic and soulful Electro Pop/Chillwave approach since debuting with her 2010 album, Echo. Wise’s excellent 2013 EP Breakfast was well received, reaching the Top 20 on iTunes’ Singer/Songwriter charts and beautifully showcasing Wise’s sultry vocals and songwriting. This spring, Wise — who performed at the 2014 MidPoint Music Festival — will release Foreplay, an EP precursor to her anticipated full-length, Racecar Orgasm. 10 p.m. Saturday. Free. MOTR Pub, 1345 Main St., Over-the-Rhine, motrpub.com.

SUNDAY

Attractions: Mummies of the World

The Cincinnati Museum Center’s once-in-a-lifetime exhibit features real mummies and artifacts, some dating back as far as 4,500 years. Discover how mummies are created, where they come from and who they are in an immersive, multi-media display. Through April 26. Non-member exhibition-only tickets: $19.50, $17.50 senior, $12.50 child. Cincinnati Museum Center, 1301 Western Ave., Queensgate, mummies.cincymuseum.org.

Bravo

Attractions: Bravo the Galapagos Tortoise's Last Day at Newport Aquarium

The Newport Aquarium’s 650-pound Galapagos tortoise Bravo — the largest turtle in the Midwest — is set to leave his Turtle Canyon home on March 1 and return to the Columbia, S.C., zoo. Upon Bravo’s departure from the aquarium, Turtle Canyon, also home to Thunder, an more than 100-year-old snapping turtle, will temporarily close for renovations. The greenhouse-like facility will re-open as a new exhibit in mid-March. During Winter Family Days, two kids get in free with each paying adult. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily. Through March 1. $23 adult; $15 kids. Newport Aquarium, Newport on the Levee, Newport, Ky., newportaquarium.com.

Event: Ohio Winter Food Festival

Formerly known at the Taste of Northern Cincinnati, the Ohio Winter Food Festival celebrates the restaurants of Cincinnati’s northern suburbs. This friendly competition pits vendors like West Chester’s Troy’s Café, Parkers Blue Ash Tavern, Sharonville’s Brick House Bar & Grill and more against each other to win best in show. Taste each of the restaurants’ signature dishes and vote for your favorite. Noon-4 p.m. Sunday. $18; $20 at the door. Sharonville Convention Center, 11355 Chester Road, Sharonville, sharonvillechamber.com.

August: Osage County at Clifton Performance Theatre

Photo: Jennifer Mahuet

Onstage: August: Osage County

Tracy Letts’ 2008 play was a throwback to another era, a three-act, three-hour drama about a dysfunctional family colliding in the arid flatlands of the Oklahoma plains when their father goes missing. Not the usual fodder of contemporary drama (or perhaps because of it), the show won that year’s Pulitzer Prize for drama and Broadway’s Tony Award for best play. It features 13 vivid and vicious characters and a houseful of contentious, sometimes startling interactions. It’s going to be all the more interesting when this sprawling script is staged in the close confines of Clifton Performance Theatre, which has about 40 seats for this production. Through March 14. $20. Clifton Players, 404 Ludlow Ave., Clifton, cliftonperformancetheatre.com.

Attractions: Falling Waters at Krohn Conservatory

The Krohn Conservatory’s early spring floral show takes design inspiration from architect Frank Lloyd Wright (his 1935 modernist Pennsylvania home built for the Kaufmann family is called “Fallingwater”). The show features a Mission-style flowerbed that looks like a stained glass window made of hundreds of pansies, tulips and hydrangeas, as well as real stained glass windows created by local artist David Duff of Classical Glass. Through March 22. $4 adult; $2 child; $1-off coupon online. Krohn Conservatory, 1501 Eden Park Drive, Mount Adams, cincinnatiparks.com.

TUESDAY

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Photo: Andrew Eccles

Dance: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Alvin Ailey once said, “Dance is for everybody. I believe that the dance came from the people and that it should always be delivered back to the people.” More than two decades after his passing, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is coming to the Aronoff for two days to deliver said gift of dance to Cincinnati. Among the six dances the troupe will perform over these two shows is Ailey’s most renowned and moving work, Revelations. Set to a series of African-American spirituals, Revelations explores both painful and splendid moments during the African-American journey. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday. $30-$75. Aronoff Center, 650 Walnut St., Downtown, cincinnatiarts.org.

Recapping the 87th Academy Awards

Having hosted multiple Emmy and Tony award shows in
the past, quadruple-threat NPH (he sings, dances, acts and does magic) was well
suited — cue Barney Stinson high-five — to the task. He did in fact sing,
dance, act and do magic all while poking fun at the nominees, recreating
significant movie moments and ad-libbing on the fly. Great job, NPH!

As far as the night’s trends, there were a few:

Using the
acceptance speech as a bigger platform

While some folks stick to the traditional “Thank God,
the Academy and my manager” speech, others used the time in the spotlight to
address other issues. This is nothing new — Marlon Brando famously boycotted
the 1973 Academy Awards for Hollywood’s treatment of Native Americans,
arranging for Sacheen Littlefeather to attend in his behalf and decline the
Best Actor award (for The Godfather).

Again, this trend is far from new. The Academy — and
audiences — love to see an actor transform, and portraying someone with a
mental or physical condition can certainly do the trick. It’s not a surefire
way to win an Oscar — just ask poor Leonardo DiCaprio (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, The
Aviator) — but the Oscars have looked favorably on roles like this in the
past. And present: Eddie Redmayne won Best Actor for his portrayal of Stephen
Hawking in The Theory of Everything;
Julianne Moore was awarded Best Actress for her role as a woman with
early-onset Alzheimer’s in Still Alice.

Ladies in
White

Whiteness wasn’t just the hilarious subject of NPH’s
first joke in the monologue (see below), it was also a prominent dress color
for many attendees, nominees and performers. Patricia Arquette, Reese
Witherspoon, Carmen Ejogo, Marion Cotillard, Lupita Nyong’o, Julianne Moore,
Lady Gaga, Kerry Washington, Nicole Kidman and others all rocked white,
channeling the snow that many of those not
in L.A. were knee-deep in.

Now for a play-by-play recap of the event.

Neil Patrick Harris opened the show with a theatrical
song, but not before making a joke about celebrating the “best and the whitest”
– err, brightest film stars.

I like how the Oscars always start with the supporting
actor award to get people excited, only to spend the following hour busting
out all the technical awards and best picture nominee previews.

Yay! Simmons has been in the acting game a long time
and killed it in Whiplash. Totally
deserved.He used the time to thoughtfully and thoroughly thank his wife, kids
and parents and urged viewers to do the same. “Call your mom. Call your dad.”

Adam Levine continues to take over the world/every
television program. He performed a song from a movie he was in (???).